April 18, 217 CENTER FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE RESEARCH United States Sentencing Commission Synthetic Cannabinoids, Cathinones, and MDMA Written Testimony: Eric D. Wish, PhD, CESAR Director* CESAR 4321 Hartwick Road, Suite 51 College Park, Maryland 274 31.45.977 TEL 31.43.8342 FAX www.cesar.umd.edu www.ndews.org @NDEWSNews www.mdcsl.org I am Dr. Eric Wish, Director of the University of Maryland s Center for Substance Abuse Research, CESAR, and I am thankful for your invitation to present some of our research findings on synthetic cannabinoids and emerging drugs. Since 199, CESAR s primary mission has been to inform national and local drug policy by interpreting the latest scientific research and conducting studies in sites around the country as new drug problems emerge. CESAR is currently directing two research projects that are most relevant to the Commission s interest in synthetic drugs. The first is the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) and the second is the Community Drug Early Warning System (CDEWS). Over more than 35 years, I have monitored the emergence and growth of a lot of drugs but nothing has been quite like the recent surge in synthetic drug use. Relevant recent findings from each of these projects are described below. National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS, www.ndews.org) CESAR established the Coordinating Center for the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) with funding from NIH s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NDIA) beginning in 214. NDEWS is a national public health surveillance system designed to utilize a variety of innovative methodologies to alert the country to emerging drug problems. Some of the NDEWS components are an electronic Network of 15+ substance abuse experts and concerned citizens, local researchers in 17 NDEWS community sites who identify and monitor New Pyschoactive Substances (NPS) and changing drug trends in their communities, and targeted HotSpot studies (www.ndews.org, Figure 1). NDEWS Coordinating Center staff also conduct ongoing social media and news media scans and regularly monitor a set of national and local indicators of drug availability, use, and consequences of use. Relevant selected findings from six of these sources are provided in the following sections. Selected Findings from Databases Monitored by NDEWS 1. The National Forensic Laboratory Information System (NFLIS; https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/nflis/) maintained by the Drug Enforcement Administration collects results from drug chemistry analyses of law enforcement seizures submitted by nearly 3 state and local forensic laboratories across the country. Nationwide, NFLIS reports for items seized testing positive for synthetic cannabinoids was highest in 212 at 4,997 reports and totaled 29,588 in 215 (Figure 2) Nationwide, NFLIS reports for items seized testing positive for cathinones was highest in 211 at 22,564 reports and have varied slightly since (Figure 2) The number of different synthetic cannabinoids identified in NFLIS reports increased steadily 2 types were identified in drug items in 29 and 84 in items in 215 (Figure 3) The number of different cathinones identified in NFLIS reports increased steadily 5 types were identified in drug items in 29 and 42 in 214 (decreased to 35 in 215) (Figure 2) *Testimony prepared with assistance from Erin Artigiani, MA, and NDEWS staff.
NFLIS reports for each of the two synthetic cannabinoids and three cathinones (JWH-18, AM-221, MDPV, methylone, mephedrone) under review by the commission decreased steadily from 213 to 215 (Data not shown) 2. Monitoring the Future (MTF; https://www.monitoringthefuture.org/) conducted by the University of Michigan is an annual survey of U.S. secondary school students, college students, and young adults to assess behaviors, values, and attitudes on topics such as the use of alcohol and other drugs. Annual use of synthetic cannabinoids, cathinones, and ecstasy have all been decreasing among 12 th graders. Past year use of synthetic cannabinoids by 12 th graders decreased steadily from 11.4% in 211 when the question was first asked to 3.5% in 216 (Figure 4) Past year use of ecstasy peaked in 21 (9.2%) and decreased from 5.% in 214 to 2.7% in 216 (Figure 4) Use of cathinones (bath salts) remained relatively low ranging from 1.3% in 212 to.8% in 216 (Figure 5) 3. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH; https://www.samhsa.gov/data/population-data-nsduh) managed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is an annual household survey of the U.S. civilian, non-institutionalized population aged 12 and older. The survey generates estimates on the prevalence, patterns, and consequences of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drug use and abuse and mental disorders at the National, state, and substate levels. In 215, 6.8% of persons aged 12 or older reported using ecstasy at least once in their lives (Figure 6) 4. American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC; www.aapcc.org) coordinates the efforts of 52 poison centers across the country and prepares annual reports on human exposure and drug identification calls. Through a special partnership between NDEWS and AAPCC, NDEWS Coordinating Center staff can post queries to poison center medical directors across the country. The peak months for human exposure calls involving synthetic cannabinoids were in summer 215 (Figure 7) Human exposure calls related to synthetic cannabinoids reached a high in 211 at 6,968 and again in 215 (7,779) which had more than double the number of calls as in 214; calls dropped sharply to 2,695 in 216 (Figure 8) In calendar year 215, every state had human exposure calls related to synthetic cannabinoids (Figure 9) Human exposure calls related to cathinones decreased steadily from 6,137 in 211 to 522 in 215 (Data not shown) 5. District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services (DCFEMS) has been monitoring EMS cases related to synthetic cannabinoids since April 215. DCFEMS patient cases peaked in August and September 215 and again in July 216 (Figure 1) There were an average of 2 cases per day in August and September 215 and 19 per day in July 216, but in the first two months of 217, there were only 3 to 6 per day (DCFEMS staff, Data not shown) 6. NDEWS News Scans NDEWS staff conduct monthly scans of a LexisNexis Academc database of article references from more than 2,25 national and international English language newspapers. Scans are run on approximately 3 drugs and drug terms. The results provide a snapshot of relative trends in what drugs local media are reporting about. Between December 214 and January 217, monthly reports about synthetic cannabinoids ranged from 117 to 226; in January 217, there 134 reports (Figure 11) Between December 214 and January 217, monthly reports about cathinones ranged from 95 to 242; in January 217, there were 181 reports (Figure 12)
Community Drug Early Warning System (CDEWS) The Community Drug Early Warning System (CDEWS) is funded by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and provides timely information about emerging drug use in high-risk criminal justice populations through expanded re-testing of urine specimens already obtained and tested for a limited panel of drugs by local criminal justice and other testing programs. CDEWS or local staff sample specimens that are ready to be discarded and send them to an independent laboratory for testing for an expanded panel of more than 15 drugs. By using already collected de-identified urine specimens, CDEWS provides a relatively quick and inexpensive snapshot of the types of drugs recently used by participating populations. Studies have been conducted in both juvenile and adult populations as well as in prisons and hospitals. CDEWS is now in its fourth cycle and includes a test panel of 26 synthetic cannabinoids and 37 designer stimulants (Figure 13). To keep up with the changing nature of synthetic cannabinoids, CDEWS staff query experts around the world to determine the new tests that need to be developed and/or included in the CDEWS panel. CDEWS results indicate that synthetic drugs such as those under consideration by the Commission are often not detected by routine drug testing programs and that persons who test positive for synthetic cannabinoids often test negative for other drugs on local panels. Other relevant results from this research are provided below. Synthetic Cannabinoids are most often detected in specimens provided by young persons; Persons testing positive for opioids tend to be the oldest (Figure 14) Synthetic cannabinoids tend to be found in persons who pass the local limited routine drug test panel, suggesting that persons whose drug use is monitored use synthetic cannabinoids to avoid a positive drug test (Figure 15) The three studies of probationers in Washington, DC, show tremendous changes in synthetic cannabinoid metabolites detected over time (Figure 16) The synthetic cannabinoid metabolites detected varied considerably by site (Figure 17) Only one metabolite (UR-144) was found in urine specimens from juveniles in Tampa, FL, but most CDEWS studies found multiple metabolites in synthetic cannabinoid positive specimens (Figure 17) Conclusions & Recommendations 1. There is clear evidence of the use and availability of synthetic drugs across the U.S. There have been considerable changes in the types of synthetics and level of use over the past several years. Persons who use these substances are playing Russian roulette with their health. 2. The Commission should look beyond the five synthetic drugs specified and address the full range of synthetic cannabinoids, cathinones, and other synthetic substances currently in use. 3. Sanctions based on particular chemical structures become obsolete almost immediately. The commission might look towards local innovations in policies and laws such as those here in Washington, DC. A local law has been implemented to focus on the marketing and intent of distributors and characteristics of the materials sold rather than on specific substances. (DC Executive Office of the Mayor, Mayor Bowser Signs Sale of Synthetic Drugs Emergency Amendment Act of 215 Into Law, July 1, 215) 4. Drug testing programs, especially those in which it is critical to identify use and diagnose substance use disorders, should weigh the value of adding Synthetic Cannabinoid metabolites to their testing protocols and adopting an annual CDEWS type of process for reviewing and updating the drugs included in their testing protocols.
References: AAPCC Website Synthetic Cannabinoids Alert, Accessed via the Internet Archive (https://web.archive.org/web/2171244413/http://www.aapcc.org/alerts/synthetic-cannabinoids/). Institute of Social Research, University of Michigan, Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-216 (available online at https://www.monitoringthefuture.org/). Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 22-215 (available online at https://www.samhsa.gov/samhsa-data-outcomes-quality/major-data-collections/reports-detailed-tables-215-nsduh). U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Diversion Control Division, NFLIS Special Reports (available online at https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/nflis/). Wish, E.D., Artigiani, E.E. & Billing, A.S. (213). Community drug early warning system: The CDEWS pilot project. Office of National Drug Control Policy. Washington, DC: Executive Office of the President. Wish, E.D., Billing, A.S., & Artigiani, E.E. (215). Community drug early warning system: The CDEWS 2 replication study. Office of National Drug Control Policy. Washington, DC: Executive Office of the President.
National Drug Early Warning System, NDEWS, www.ndews.org Figure 1: NDEWS Components National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) DETECTING & MONITORING National Sources AAPCC Listserv Info News Scans Web/Drug User Forum Scans Drug Lab/Retail Websites Analyses of Drug Terms in Social Media NDEWS Network Member Queries, as Needed Ongoing Discussion Topics Early Alerts from Members Local Reports and Updates Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) NDEWS Coordinating Center (CESAR) FOLLOWING UP Targeted Studies Queries of NDEWS Network Members News Scans Web/Drug User Forum Scans Geo-Spatial Analyses HotSpot Studies Geo-Specific News Scans Site Visits Interviews with Experts/Users Urinalysis Studies Geo-Spatial Analyses Sentinel Community Sites Early Warning Indicators Monitoring Indicators for Use, Consequences, and Availability Sentinel Community Epidemiologists (SCEs) Provide Relevant Contextual Information and Local Research/Program Updates = Early Warning Component SHARING Information Exchange & Dissemination Posts on NDEWS Network, Website, and Social Media Sites NDEWS Presents Webinars NDEWS Short Publications: NDEWS News, Notes from the Field NDEWS Reports: Annual, Drug-Specific, Sentinel Community Site, HotSpot Data Tables, SCS Snapshots, and Cross-Site Graphics Conference Presentations & Other Publications Website Links to Additional Resources
Law Enforcement Seizures of Synthetic Cannabinoids and Cathinones Figure 2: National Annual Estimates of Synthetic Cannabinoids and Synthetic Cathinones in Reports in NFLIS, 21-215 Synthetic Cannabinoids Synthetic Cathinones 45, 4, 4997 35, 3, 3191 33653 29588 25, 2, 15, 2287 22564 1457 16811 15523 1949 1, 5, 2892 62 21 211 212 213 214 215 NOTES: NFLIS estimates are calculated using the National Estimates Based on All Reports (NEAR) methodology, which has strong statistical advantages for producing national and regional estimates. Estimates shown here are based on drug cases and items submitted to participating state and local laboratories during the calendar year and analyzed within three months of the end of the calendar year. For each drug item (or exhibit) analyzed by a laboratory in the NFLIS program, up to three drugs can be reported to NFLIS and counted in the estimation process. A drug-specific case is one for which the specific drug was identified as the first, second, or third drug report for any item associated with the case. A drug-specific report is the total number of reports of the specific drug. State and local policies related to the enforcement and prosecution of specific drugs may affect drug item submissions to laboratories for analysis. Laboratory policies and procedures for handling drug evidence vary. For example, some analyze all items submitted, while others analyze only selected case items. Many laboratories do not analyze drug evidence if the criminal case was dismissed from court or if no person could be linked to the item. Thus, NFLIS data might underestimate the availability of drugs in the illicit market that state or local labs do not systematically identify. Figure 3: Number of Different Synthetic Cannabinoids and Synthetic Cathinones in Reports in NFLIS, 29-215 Synthetic Cannabinoids Synthetic Cathinones 9 8 76 84 7 6 57 59 5 4 38 33 33 3 21 2 15 11 1 5 2 29 21 211 212 213 214 215 NOTES: Data shown here are based on drug cases and items submitted to participating state and local laboratories during the calendar year and analyzed within three months of the end of the calendar year. For each drug item (or exhibit) analyzed by a laboratory in the NFLIS program, up to three drugs can be reported to NFLIS and counted in the estimation process. A drug-specific case is one for which the specific drug was identified as the first, second, or third drug report for any item associated with the case. A drug-specific report is the total number of reports of the specific drug. State and local policies related to the enforcement and prosecution of specific drugs may affect drug item submissions to laboratories for analysis. Laboratory policies and procedures for handling drug evidence vary. For example, some analyze all items submitted, while others analyze only selected case items. Many laboratories do not analyze drug evidence if the criminal case was dismissed from court or if no person could be linked to the item. Thus, NFLIS data might underestimate the availability of drugs in the illicit market that state or local labs do not systematically identify. SOURCE: Adapted by the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) Coordinating Center from data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Diversion Control Division, NFLIS Special Reports (available online at https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/nflis/). 42 35
Use of Synthetic Cannabinoids, Cathinones, and Ecstasy Use by Youth from Monitoring the Future (MTF; Annual National School Survey) 12 Figure 4: Percentage of U.S. 12th Graders Reporting Past Year Use of Synthetic Cannabinoids and Ecstasy (MDMA), 1996-216 11.4 11.3 Percentage 1 8 6 4 2 4.6 4. 3.6 5.6 8.2 9.2 7.4 7.9 5.8 5.2 4.5 4. 4.1 4.5 4.3 4.3 4.5 5.3 3.5 3.8 4. 5. 3.6 3. 2.7 Year Ecstasy* Synthetic Cannabinoids NOTE: *The questionnaire was revised starting in 214 to include the word molly. The revised data are presented for years 214 through 216. Figure 5: Percentage of U.S. 12th Graders Reporting Past Year Use of Bath Salts, 212-216 Percentage 5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1.5 1.3.9.9 1..8 212 213 214 215 216 Year SOURCE: Adapted by the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) Coordinating Center from Institute of Social Research, University of Michigan, Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-216 (available online at https://www.monitoringthefuture.org/).
National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH; Household Survey) Percentage 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.. 4.3 Figure 6: Estimated Percentage U.S. Residents Age 12 or Older Reporting Lifetime Ecstasy Use, 22-215 4.6 4.6 4.7 5. 5. 5.2 5.7 6.3 5.7 6.2 6.8 6.6 6.8 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 21 211 212 213 214 215 Year SOURCE: Adapted by the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) Coordinating Center from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 22-215 (available online at https://www.samhsa.gov/samhsa-data-outcomesquality/major-data-collections/reports-detailed-tables-215-nsduh).
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Consequences of Use Human Exposure Calls (Source: American Association of Poison Control Centers, http://www.aapcc.org) Figure 7: Number of Calls to U.S. Poison Control Centers about Exposure * to Synthetic Cannabinoids, by Month January 21- February 217 16 14 12 1 8 6 4 2 21 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 Figure 8: Human Exposures to Synthetic Cannabinoids Reported to Poison Centers, by Year 211-216 Number of Exposures 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 7779 6968 523 3682 2668 2695 211 212 213 214 215 216 Year *The term exposure means someone has had contact with the substance in some way; for example, ingested, inhaled, absorbed by the skin or eyes, etc. Not all exposures are poisonings or overdoses. These data are only representative of calls received by the poison centers and may not reflect the actual severity of the problem. AAPCC data for 216 and 217 are considered preliminary because it is possible that a poison center may update a case anytime during the year if new information is obtained. In the fall of each year, the data for the previous year is locked, and no additional changes are made. SOURCE: Adapted by the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) Coordinating Center from data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC).
Figure 9: Source: AAPCC Website Synthetic Cannabinoids Alert, Accessed via the Internet Archive (https://web.archive.org/web/2171244413/http://www.aapcc.org/alerts/syntheticcannabinoids/). DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services (FEMS) Patient Cases Figure 1: Suspected Synthetic Cannabinoid Patient Cases, by Month, April 215- February 217 7 6 5 439 413 68 611 58 597 459 4 3 2 1 18 21 173 165 159 114 21 21 24 11 225 113 161 79 98 162 Source: Adapted by the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) Coordinating Center from data from the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department
NDEWS News Scan Results Figure 11: Newspaper Reports About Synthetic Cannabinoids, Dec. 214 - Jan. 217 Number of Article Hits per month 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 23 123 142 147 191 29 226 187 162 17 194 177 147 155 178 187 185 191 117 128 157 155 136 157 134 12 Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 Jun-15 Jul-15 Aug-15 Sep-15 Oct-15 Nov-15 NDEWS analysis of searches of the LexisNexis Academic ALLNEWS database for the terms "(synthetic w/1 cannabinoid) OR (synthetic w/1 marijuana) OR (synthetic w/1 cannabis) OR JWH OR (UR w/1 144) OR (XLR w/1 11) OR Chminaca OR Fubinaca OR Pinaca OR (PB w/1 22) OR THJ." The ALLNEWS database contains articles from more than 2,4 English-language newspapers and web news sources. Duplicates were removed with the "moderate similarity" filter in LexisNexis. Dec-15 Jan-16 Feb-16 Mar-16 Apr-16 May-16 Jun-16 Jul-16 Aug-16 Sep-16 Oct-16 Nov-16 Dec-16 Jan-17 Number of Article Hits per month 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 22 21 219 242 233 19 28 194 13 18 169 141 129 158 179 21 226 181 116 95 13 135 127 97 97 123 Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Figure 12: Newspaper Reports About Cathinones, Dec. 214 - Jan. 217 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 Jun-15 Jul-15 Aug-15 Sep-15 Oct-15 Nov-15 NDEWS analysis of searches of the LexisNexis Academic ALLNEWS database for the terms "(Bath w/1 salts) OR Cathinones OR mephedrone OR methylone OR MDPV OR ethylone OR (bk w/1 MDEA) OR flakka OR alpha-pvp OR (a w/1 PVP) OR Pentedrone OR Pentylone." The ALLNEWS database contains articles from more than 2,4 English-language newspapers and web news sources. Duplicates were removed with the "moderate similarity" filter in LexisNexis. Note: Outbreaks of drug problems often come to public attention first via media reports. NDEWS conducts periodic reviews of published news articles and special scans for specific drugs. This graph represents a rough estimate of the number of news articles reporting on a drug or drug use issue. Not all newspapers and web news sources are catalogued in LexisNexis, and the sources may change at any time. Although a duplicate filter was used in the original LexisNexis search, duplicate articles may remain in the results. In addition, this is a count of articles not incidents, as many articles may report on the same incident. Dec-15 Jan-16 Feb-16 Mar-16 Apr-16 May-16 Jun-16 Jul-16 Aug-16 Sep-16 Oct-16 Nov-16 Dec-16 Jan-17
Community Drug Early Warning System (CDEWS) Figure 13: CDEWS Test Panels for Designer Stimulants and Synthetic Cannabinoids, 217 DESINER STIMULANT PANEL 1 25B-NBoMe 2 25I-NBoMe 3 25C-NBoMe 4 2C-B 5 2C-B-FLY 6 2C-T 7 2C-T-7 8 4-ANPP 9 4-Fluoroamphetamine 1 4-Fluoromethamphetamine 11 4-Methylethcathinone (4-MEC) 12 5-APDB/6-APDB 13 B-Methylphenethylamine 14 Bromo-DragonFLY 15 Buphedrone 16 Butylone 17 Benzylpiperazine 18 Cathinone 19 Dibutylone 2 Dimethylone 21 Methcathinone/Ephedrone 22 Ethylone 23 Eutylone 24 Flephedrone 25 MBDB 26 MDPV 27 a-pvp 28 Mephedrone 29 Methedrone 3 Methylone 31 Naphyrone 32 Pentedrone 34 Pentylone 35 Phenmetrazine 36 Phentermine 37 PMMA SYNTHETIC CANNABINOID PANEL 1 JWH-18-5-COOH 2 JWH-19-6-OH 3 JWH-73-4-COOH 4 JWH-81-5-OH 5 JWH-122-5-OH 6 JWH-21-5-OH 7 JWH-25-5-OH 8 AM221-4-OH 9 MAM-221-5-COOH/JWH 122 COOH 1 RCS-4-5-COOH 11 UR-144-5-COOH 12 XLR-11-4-OH 13 AKB-48 COOH 14 5F AKB-48 metabolite 15 BB-22 metabolite 16 PB-22 Carb Indole 17 5F PB-22 Carb Indole 18 AB-PINACA 19 5F AB PINACA 2 ADB-PINACA-5-COOH 21 ADBICA-5-COOH 22 AB-FUBINACA (Parent) 23 AB-CHMINACA (Parent) 24 AB-CHMINACA metab 4 25 AB-CHMINACA metab 6 26 ADB-FUBINACA (Parent) Note: Table includes cathinones, phenethylamines, amphetamines, and a piperazine
Figure 14: Mean Age of Persons Positive For Specific Drugs in Washington, DC Adult Parolees and Probationers for CDEWS-1 and CDEWS-2 CDEWS-1 CDEWS-2^ (11/212-3/213) (12/213-3/214) Average Age Average Age Percent Positive by CDEWS Lab for: (n) xx (SD) (n) xx (SD) Marijuana (55) 29.5 (8.7) (47) 27.5 (9.1) Synthetic Cannabinoids (45) 28.1 (7.6) (67) 3.8 (9.2) PCP (19) 32.8 (5.4) (16) 31.6 (6.3) Codeine (43) 48. (1.2) (32) 47.5 (13.3) Cocaine (31) 49.5 (8.8) (46) 46.5 (1.7) Oxymorphone (9) 45.8 (12.6) (11) 48.6 (1.9) Opiates (5) 47.8 (1.7) (45) 48. (12.1) Oxycodone (9) 45.1 (12.6) (13) 47.5 (12.6) Morphine (45) 48.5 (1.3) (4) 5.4 (9.6) Buprenorphine (25) 46.2 (11.8) (12) 52. (12.5) Methadone (24) 5.6 (8.6) (15) 53.1 (6.8) ^To make the PSA positive specimens from CDEWS-2 comparable to those from CDEWS-1, the 3 amphetamine positive specimens oversampled in CDEWS-2 were omitted from this table. Note: This table only includes drugs for which there were a minimum of 9 positive specimens. Source: Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR), Community Drug Early Warning System (CDEWS-2), March 215.
Figure 15: Percentage of Specimens for Adult Male DC Parolees/Probationers and Juvenile Males Testing Positive + for Synthetic Cannabinoids, by PSA Drug Screening Result and Age, 214 7% (N=453) 6% 5% 53%* 58% Percentage Testing Positive for Synthetic Cannabinoids 4% 3% 2% 1% % 19% 27% Pos Neg (N=81) (N=83) 12 to 17 33% NA Pos Neg (N=21) (N=3) 18 to 2 16%* 32% 24% 34% %** 28%** 4% 11% Pos Neg Pos Neg Pos Neg Pos Neg Pos Neg (N=25) (N=15)(N=28) (N=12)(N=29) (N=32)(N=36) (N=18)(N=52) (N=19) 21 to 25 26 to 3 31 to 4 41 to 5 51 and Older PSA Screen Positive PSA Screen Negative + Positive specimens from the DC parole and probation sample were weighted due to oversampling of amphetamine positive specimens. See the DC Adult Parolees and Probationers results section of the full report. The sum of all categories adds up to 454 because data are weighted resulting in some rounding effects. *p<.5 by Fisher s exact test; **p<.1 by Fisher s exact test. Note: PSA positive specimens were oversampled. Therefore, separate estimates for the "PSA Screen Positive" and "PSA Screen Negative" groups should not be averaged to create an overall estimate. Source: Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR), Community Drug Early Warning System (CDEWS-2), March 215.
Figure 16: Metabolites Identified in SC Positive Specimens from Washington, DC, CDEWS-1, CDEWS-2, and CDEWS-3 Studies CDEWS-1 Adult Parole & Probation Population (11/212-3/213; N=45) CDEWS-2 Adult Parole & Probation Population (12/213-3/214; N=67)^ CDEWS-3 Adult Parole & Probation Population (8/215-1/215; N=31)^ Percentage Positive by CDEWS Lab For: UR-144 91%*** 99%*** XLR-11 4%*** 5%*** JWH-18 7% % Not Detected JWH-73 2% % Not Detected AB-PINACA Not Tested %*** 5F-PB-22 Not Tested 1%*** PB-22 Not Tested 4%** 5F-AB-PINACA Not Tested %* ADB-PINACA Not Tested % AKB-48 Not Tested 2% Not Detected AB-CHMINACA (metab 4) Not Tested Not Tested AB-CHMINACA (Parent) Not Tested Not Tested ADB-FUBINACA (Parent) Not Tested Not Tested AB-CHMINACA (metab 6) Not Tested Not Tested AB-FUBINACA (Parent) Not Tested Not Tested ^To make the PSA positive specimens from CDEWS-2 and CDEWS-3 comparable to those from CDEWS-1, the amphetamine positive specimens oversampled in CDEWS-2 and CDEWS-3 were omitted from this table. *p<.5 by chi-square or Fisher s exact test. **p<.1 by chi-square or Fisher s exact test. ***p<.1 by chi-square or Fisher s exact test. = substance found in at least one specimen; actual percentages can be provided after full report is released Source: Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR), Community Drug Early Warning System (CDEWS-2), March 215, and CDEWS-3.
Figure 17: Metabolites Found In All Synthetic Cannabinoid Positive Specimens, By CDEWS-2 Population Adult Parole & Probation Washington, DC (N=7)* Juvenile Family Court Washington, DC (N=38)^ Adult Drug Court Denver, CO (N=19)* Juvenile Assessment Center Tampa, FL (N=1) + (Dates SC positives collected) (12/5/13-3/18/14) (5/21/14-7/3/14) (8/25/13-2/12/14) (9/2/14-1/31/14) Metabolites Detected UR-144 99% 71% 53% 1% PB-22 41 5 37 5F-PB-22 13 21 21 XLR-11 4 26 11 AKB-48 1 MAM-221 ± 32 JWH-18 3 32 JWH-122 21 JWH-73 3 11 AB-PINACA 13 5 ADBICA ± 5 5F-AB-PINACA ± 3 Number of Above Metabolites (of 12) Detected 1 57% 68% 63% 1% 2 3 24 11 43% 32% 37% 3+ 13 8 26 Total 1% 1% 1% 1% *Positive specimens were oversampled, therefore these results may not be representative of the general parolee/probationer or drug court populations. 7 positive for SC of 319 specimens. ^38 positive for SC of 194 specimens. 19 positive for SC of 294 specimens. + 1 positive for SC of 218 specimens. ± These metabolites have not yet been scheduled by the DEA as of January 215. Source: Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR), Community Drug Early Warning System (CDEWS-2), March 215.